Crossing the Deep (7 page)

“Are you done with this?” She pointed to the flashlight.

“Sure, I guess. What are you up to?”

“Finding a way to pass the time and not freak out.”

“I’m all for not freaking out. Whatcha reading?”

“The Bible.”

She took the flashlight and opened her book. The worn pages felt like home to her, and she found comfort in the words. After a few verses, she lost herself reading the book of Psalms, taking care to feel each word. Before long, she forgot where she was and who she was with.

A few minutes later, she felt eyes locked on her. Peeking through her hair, she noticed Asher staring. She ignored him and continued reading. It was when the staring became unbearable that she dog-eared the page and laid the book in her lap. She trained the light right on him like an interrogation. “Can I help you?”

He used his hand to block the blinding light. “Reading anything interesting?”

“Always.” She smiled, lowering the light to the ground. “Do you want me to read some to you?”

“No thanks. I’m good.”

“Ah, a non-believer, eh?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what exactly? With a name like Asher, someone in your family had to have been religious at one time or another.” When he didn’t say anything, she explained herself. “You know because Asher was—”

“—one of the original twelve tribes of Israel. I know.”

“Then—” She had no idea why she kept on pushing. She just had the strangest urge to know him better, to understand him. He didn’t make a lot of sense to her sometimes and since they were stuck, she figured it was now or never. Plus, what else did they have to do?

“Maybe you should cut off the light for the rest of the night and rest. Keep it close to you, though, in case we need it.” By the tone of his voice, Rachel knew that he didn’t want to have a Bible conversation. His reluctance to answer only stirred her curiosity that much more. What had led Asher out on their hiking trip, and what had caused him to stay with her when he didn’t have to?

After a lot of thought, she decided to drop it. His beliefs were his beliefs, and she was just grateful that he was there with her no matter what they were. If he believed that the sky rained cheese, she wouldn’t fight him on it — not as long as he stayed there and watched the cheese with her.

Rachel did as asked and turned off the light. Once she did the darkness slammed against her like a sledgehammer. The volume of the forest sounds amplified instantly. Even among those critters, Asher, and God, she felt so alone.

“Here, you take the blanket,” he said, scooting out from under it.

“No, my jacket is warmer than yours. You’ll freeze without it. I’m fine.”

“Rachel…”

“I’m. Fine.” And she meant it. Not wanting to hear any more, she scooted a few feet from him and lay back on the ground. She heard him groan and lay back too. Smiling that she had won, she hugged her Bible to her chest and looked up at the stars. The few twinkling lights she could see through the trees gave off the only light in the area.

She knew that she was never truly alone, but out there like a minuscule speck in the big forest, it sure seemed like it. Thinking back over all of the sermons she had ever heard, a common theme had been God was always with you. And on that mountain, she knew He was: God and Asher Jenkins.

****

Asher kept his eyes on the nighttime sky, but his mind was elsewhere. He wished there was an easy way out; a way to just get down the mountain soon and forget any of it ever happened. But, truth be told, what did he have waiting for him when he
did
get down?

Rachel had her worrywart mom waiting for her. He had an aunt who cared more for her clients than him, and a semi-uncle who would only miss watching his butt sway when he left a room. Weighing his options, he realized that being up on that mountain wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened to him.

With no intention of sleeping, he had already decided to stand watch while Rachel got some much needed rest. The girl’s day had been traumatic, and she needed sleep to get ready for the next day. She never should have gone off that side path… Then again, no one forced him to go after her.

Hearing her breathing, he turned his head toward her. Even in the limited moonlight, he could see how cold she was. Long red curls framed her round face. She slept on her side. It didn’t look peaceful. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her knees were pulled up as close as they could go.

Asher hugged the purple blanket tighter, feeling the effects of the cold himself. Then, feeling selfish for keeping it for himself while the girl froze, he laid the plush blanket over her body, careful not to wake her, and watched. Her breathing eased after a few seconds, and her body stretched out a little. He scooted over a few feet and drew his legs up. Hugging them, he rocked back and forth as the chilly wind assaulted him. It was going to be a long night.

Chapter Seven

Saturday Morning:
Three
days before….

Rachel never thought she would sleep that night. When she had laid her head down, she figured she would rest her eyes for a few minutes, and then the sounds of the woods would jolt her awake. That didn’t happen.

When she first saw the light, it startled her. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the invading brightness. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and tried to clear her foggy brain. Something didn’t feel right.

Her body ached. The ground had not been her friend. Even muscles and joints she didn’t know she had hurt. She groaned, thinking she was way too young to hurt like that.

Despite the fact that it killed her eyes, she welcomed the sun filtering through the trees. It meant it was morning, and the search party would be coming soon. She and Asher would be back to civilization by lunch.

Asher.

That’s what was missing: why things felt so off. Where he had been the night before had nothing but disheveled dirt. It was then she noticed her blanket draped over her. When had he given it back? She hugged it closer and breathed in his lingering cologne.

“Asher?” she yelled out into the wilderness. A cloud blew out of her lips. It felt near zero, though she figured a thermometer would read much higher. “Asher, where are you?”

Her heart beat harder with each unanswered second. “Asher!” She searched all around the woods for him. He wouldn’t have left her, would he?

“Great,” she mumbled. “Just. Great.”

There were two plausible explanations: one, Asher had left her to fend for herself while he went down the mountain and was all toasty in a hotel room, or two; he had gone out in the night and gotten lost. Either way, she couldn’t stay there. If he’d left her, she had to get herself down the mountain. If he was hurt, he needed her to help him.

The idea of standing and the actual act of doing it were two entirely different things. She wobbled like a newborn colt trying to get herself steady.

“Hold on, girl. I’m here,” he yelled, running up behind her. He threw the few sticks of wood he had in his arms down and grabbed her waist to save her misguided attempt at heroics. Carefully, he helped her sit back down and squatted in front of her. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Looking for you.”

“Worried about me, eh?”

“Worried about being left alone’s all,” she lied. For some reason, she didn’t want him to know that she had been concerned about him. He might get the wrong idea.

“Ah…” He moved back to the sticks and stacked them in some sort of order. “You just want me for my presence, that’s all.”

“Well… no…”

“You don’t want my presence.”

“No, I don’t want you just for that… I mean…”

“What else could you want me for?” The way he smiled at her made her blush, and she hated it. It had to be noticeable on her light skin. A nice hole to run into would be nice. If only the one she had tripped in had been bigger.

“I, uh…” What else could she say? He’d talked her into a corner and by the way his face lit up, he was enjoying it.

“It’s all right, Rachel. I don’t mind being used… for my presence or otherwise.” From everything she had heard about him, she figured that was a pretty accurate statement.

He didn’t look back at her, and she counted that as a blessing. Once he stopped fiddling with the sticks, he got out a book of matches and lit one.

“Where did you get those?”

“You have your necessities. I have mine.”

“I knew you had cigarettes at the hotel,” she said, giddy that she had been right. The urge to jump up and down in victory was almost too strong to suppress.

“I told you, not everything is black and white.” He laid the lit match on the wood, but it didn’t ignite.

“So, where did you get them?”

“Hotel lobby,” he said, and she pictured the lobby in her mind. Yeah, she remembered a little silver plate full of them next to the oversized stone fireplace. At the time, she thought it odd. If all of the rooms were smoke-free, why would one need a match?

“Thought you said we couldn’t have a fire. Something about some bear getting angry.”

He shrugged with his back still to her, and she noticed for the first time just how broad his shoulders were. “It won’t be a big fire, and we’ll watch it. It’s better than freezing, right?”

“Speaking of… thanks for the blanket.” She hugged it around her shoulders and shivered.

“No problem. It’s yours anyway.”

He struck a second match and tried to light the damp wood again. When it failed, he looked at her. “Well, this isn’t working.”

Rachel tried to think back at those survival shows her dad always had on, the ones she hadn’t paid that much attention to. “Do you think you might need some drier leaves or… something… to get it started?”

“How would I know? Told you, I’m no boy scout.”

“Doesn’t matter anyway. David and the rest of the search party will come after us today. All we have to do is wait.”

“Yeah,” Asher sighed. “But waiting would have been easier with a fire.”

“Can’t argue with that.”

So they didn’t have a fire, but they would have to make do. They had to stay positive, and she was positive of one thing; something very uncomfortable was about to happen. She couldn’t hold it any longer.

The time had regrettably come to do the inevitable. She turned on her knees and put all of her weight on her good leg while pushing up with her hands until she was standing.

“Um…?” Asher watched her with a raised brow.

“I’m standing up.”

“You do realize you can’t walk, right?”

“Yeah, you keep telling me that.”

“And you keep proving me right.”

Rachel glared and shook her head, “Ha.”
Jerk.
“I have to go.”

“Go? Go where?”

She wished the guy could take a hint or at least have some clue about human nature. “I have to do… something.”

“Something?”

The twinkle in his eye clued her in to the fact that he knew exactly what she was talking about. “Yes, Asher. Not to be crude, but I need some relief. Nature calls if you catch my drift.”

“So… you can’t run away from a wild fox, but you can walk to the bathroom?” He laughed.

“Girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.” She grinned back. “You’ve obviously been out in the woods.” She pointed at the sticks in the attempted fire. “Any suggestions?”

“Well, I suggest you don’t wander off. You tend to get lost when you do.”

“Duly noted.” She fought the urge to glare.

Before taking her first step, Rachel closed her eyes and prayed.
Lord, please give me strength… and please don’t let this hurt too bad.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Asher looking at her. Of course, he was looking. It was either look at her or a tree. But the way he watched her every move made her feel self-conscious. Did he think her praying was silly? Why should she care if he thought it was stupid? Didn’t mean she did.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out on her good foot, remembering the rhythm she had gotten in the day before. Unlike the day before, though, intense pain coursed up her leg when she scooted it. She bit her lip to keep from screaming. Before she realized it, he was there.

He grabbed her shoulder to balance her. “Need help?”

“No, I got it.”

“Don’t be stubborn. You can’t walk.”

“I can, and I am.” She couldn’t let Asher lead her to the bathroom. It was just too much to ask of a person.

“Don’t be like this. You need help. Don’t be a super hero on my account.”

“Just please let me do this on my own.” She wasn’t above begging. “There are certain things that a person needs to do themselves, and I suspect going to the bathroom is one of them. I’ll yell for you if I need help.”

“Stubborn little thing, aren’t you?”

Rachel wished she could read his mind because no one had ever looked at her the way he was. He held her a few more seconds before he let her go and walked back to the failed fire.

Relieved, she mentally thanked him for turning his back, and then saw what her stubbornness had actually gotten her: a trip by herself, hurt foot and all, to go pee in the woods. Oh, happy day.

About thirty minutes later, she made her way to the path and hobbled toward Asher.

“So, you did make it back,” he said while poking at the small fire. “I was beginning to wonder.”

“Came back the way I went,” she said, hoping he got her double meaning. “Got the fire going, huh?”

“Yep, found some leaves that weren’t as damp from the dew as the others. Lit right up.”

Rachel found a spot next to the fire, and Asher helped her sit down. It felt so good to be something resembling warm. “Didn’t we establish that it’s a federal offense to set a fire in a national park?”

He shrugged, poking at the flames. “Don’t care. If they want to arrest me, they can. At least jail has heat.”

“Seen many jails, have you?” She laughed. Her smile faded when she saw the expression on his face. His eyes narrowed and the little muscle on the corner of his mouth twitched. “You’ve been to jail?”

“Maybe.”

“Are you joking with me?”

“Nope.” He didn’t look at her. “I hate to tell you this, Rachel Harker, but you are in the woods with a criminal.”